The Supreme Court held that a council member's declaration of an 'interest under the Code of Conduct' on a pro forma form does not amount to a disclosure of a financial interest under s 5.65 of the Local Government Act 1995 (WA), and therefore does not relieve the member of the obligation to vote under s 5.21(2). The Court further held that s 5.68(1) requires an identifiable decision by the non-disclosing members — including consideration of the statutory criteria in s 5.68(1)(b)(i) and (ii) — before a disclosing member may participate or vote; a notation in the minutes without a formal vote or assessment of the statutory factors is insufficient. The Court also held that a Magistrate in a criminal proceeding was not required to determine the validity of a council resolution as a precondition to finding an offence, and that the statutory term 'vote' does not include abstention.
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